Asiedu Nketia to NPP – I want you to select your best intellect to debate me on sale of Merchant Bank

The controversy surrounding the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz Equity, has invoked series of unclear explanations on the media front; with the two major political parties addressing the issue from a partisan point of view.

It is on this background that the General Secretary for the National Democratic Congress, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has dared the New Patriotic Party to an intellectual debate on the subject. He wants the NPP to assemble their best men to battle him on the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz.

The NPP insists the sale of Merchant Bank is a clear case of “conflict of interest” considering the people behind the purchase of the asset.

But a clearly livid Asiedu Nketia who spoke on Okay FM pointed out that he cannot agree to the issue of conflict of interest raised by the NPP. That assertion, to him, holds no water for the fact that the president’s brother, Ibrahim Mahama, together with twenty four others secured the loan – which has become the subject of public discussion – at the time the NPP was in power.

“President Mahama was an ordinary MP when Hon. Akoto Osei signed the monies for the people (Engineers and Planners)”, he said.

He further explained that it was based on the hard work of Ibrahim Mahama that paved way for him to secure the loan and not on any political consideration.

“If the NPP keeps on drumming that they gave him (Ibrahim Mahama) the loan on something else and not based on hard work, then who should we blame and say committed conflict of interest? If you should call Ibrahim now and ask him about how his business is faring now compared to the era of ex-president Kufour, he would tell you that the latter’s era was better”, Mr. Nketia revealed.

“The Fortiz deal isn’t meant to cover up the debtors. The debtors would be pursued and made to pay because this is what the new agreement talks about. Fortiz has intentions to recollect the debts and buy more shares for SSNIT contributors”, he added.

Summing up, he called on the host of the show, Kwame Nkrumah “Tikese” to arrange an intellectual debate between himself and any of the best brains in the NPP for Ghanaians to really get to the bottom of the matter.

“It must be a two hour show and all Ghanaians must tune in and be the judges”, he requested.